I am considering leaving a 30 ft twin IO cruiser in salt water wet slip ,

[alan ber]

I have a twin 4.3 Volvo Penta duo prop on a 2003 Regal Commodore

Boat a weekender ,. Twin IOs not designed too be left in water long term
Boat kept at a marina
Marina offers, wet slips & in/out ( indoor barn or outdoor yard ) I am outdoor yard on a cradle , Can maintain boat at my leisure
Marina offers in/out customers courtesy slips when available , limited .I see marina stopping this feature
Reside 75 from marina , retired , I sleep aboard often , a feature that keeps me at this marina ,


I am considering moving too a wet slip in a yacht club , Yacht club offers a life style , a way too meet people , totally different then a marina that is geared like a RV campsite , professional fisherman , charter boaters , transient short term ,

Until I sell this boat and go too a boat I can leave in water this is all I have .
I have a trailer so I have ability too pull boat , truck & ramp close by , Power wash bottom often
Bottom never painted
If I decide too go wet slip ,I am afraid of the damage too IOs ,
I know there is a lot of discussion on this topic ,
What would be best bottom paint
Best IO paint
How too protect barnacle growth on bellows behind lower units

I have owned this boat 5 years , Had too repower last season , So deep into this whole I am forced too keep , Buying another boat starting all over I have desire , Boat is 30 ft , having a trailer I am not held hostage but indirectly held hostage by the type of boat I own ,

Some thoughts THNKS

 

[tpenfield]

Not sure why you say your boat's I/O's were not design to stay in the water :noidea:

My boat (with twin I/O's) stays in the water (salted) at my mooring from May - October every year.

2 types of protection are the key . . .

(1) protection against galvanic corrosion (anodes, anodes, and more anodes)

(2) protection against marine growth (antifouling paint for hull and outdrives)

I use a full set of anodes each year, and also have the Mercathode system (I forget what the V-P equivalent is). I use ePaint EP-2000 antifouling paint on the hull and Trilux 33 antifouling paint on the outdrive . . . all parts of the running gear . . . housing, props, bellows, hoses, cables, etc.

I usually buy the Trilux 33 in quarts and apply with a small roller. For the bellows and hard to reach areas, I use a spray bottle for the Trilux. I also coat the inside of the water intake tube (within the outdrive) with Trilux 33 so that barnacles do not want to grow inside the water passage.

At the end of the season (4-5 months) the anodes are about 50% depleted (trashed) and there may be a few barnacles here and there on the outdrive. The hull stays clean. I usually let the barnacles die over the winter and they pop right off during spring prep.

 

[garbageguy]

I am also not sure why you say "Twin IOs not designed too be left in water long term"

Agree with the add'l perks you might get at a "yacht club" vs a "marina" (depending on definitions, personal inspection of the spot is the obvious key here), but think the boat doesn't care either way

 

[Scott Danforth]

check the zincs often. many times shore power can not be up to snuff and the stray voltage can make galvanic corrosion worse

bottom paint the boat (dont forget the barrier coat)

paint the outdrives

maintain the boat per the manual

go boating.

 

[alan ber]

Interesting responses , I am in Fl , and have seen other boats with twin IOs at my marina , Pin wholes , barnacle growth really a shame , There was a guy with a 200 thousand dollar boat with IO's , , He lived up north , Used boat as his condo until he moved down , Boat was in salt water a year , Was not protected properly , Lower units looked battered
Most repair companies in this area say don't leave IO's in water long term ,
Your responses is something too consider
I have always felt if it was not designed too be left in water they would have not made IO's

I flush after each use , New manifold s & risers almost a year old , Removed one for cleaning , salt build up was already starting too block water passages , Salt not kind

thanks

 

[alldodge]

Galvanic protection is the key, without the correct amount of protection you have trouble.

Do wonder why most coastal marina's don't allow lifts.

 

[dingbat]

Do wonder why most coastal marina's don't allow lifts.

No problem if you want to pay for the maintenance of a lift in saltwater and relieve the marina of the responsibility of getting your boat off the lift every time a good storm rolls thru.

 

[Lou C]

What you can do in the north east as Ted and I have done, might not be as easy or practical in Fla. Fla salt water is probably saltier and no doubt warmer whan what we have. There is no way you can leave it in salt all year long without pulling it for a check of anodes, marine growtih build up etc. I would say at a minimum it has to be hauled once a year for the normal outdrive maintenance (pull drive check bellows, gimble bearing and u joints, change gear oil, etc). The anti fouling may not last a whole season, it may need to be painted 2x per year. I found even with Trilux II it barely lasts the whole season here. And that's brushing on 2 good coats. You can have other problems as noted like barnacles growing the water intakes, etc. Then there's the question, does it have closed cooling or raw water cooled? if the latter figure on about 10 years before the engines corrode internally to the point where new engines are needed (but outboards are not really better in that regard). Even if its a half system, as offered by Volvo, you are then replacing (4) manifolds and (4) elbows every 5 years, at least $1500 parts cost and that's aftermarket with owner supplied labor, double it if yard does it.
Personally I would not do it in Fla. I'd sell it and get a boat with inboards or outboards. Been there, done it...won't do it again...

 

[Tassie 1]

My 30 ft fb cruiser lives in salt water all year round,
only comes out for a few days on the SLIP every couple of yrs for anti foul paint,

inboard/shaft drives

Anodes are usually done at the same time or when necessary pulled out on a borrowed yard trailer/ tractor,

hull gets a inwater scrub ( diver ) with short broom/ scrapers every so often,

 

[Lou C]

shaft drives and outdrives are TOTALLY different animals....you could NEVER do that here with outdrives....

 

[crazy charlie]

Interesting responses , I am in Fl

I flush after each use , New manifold s & risers almost a year old , Removed one for cleaning , salt build up was already starting too block water passages , Salt not kind

thanks

IF you have salt build up after 1 year then you either are not flushing with fresh water as you state or you are running warmer than you should be.Salt will crystalize at approx 190 degrees.Rust and corrosion is typically what reduces cooling water passageways,not salt.Your condition is not typical.There is no reason to remove a 1year old riser for cleaning so you must have removed it because you were running warm/hot and were looking for the reason.Charlie

 

[Lou C]

If I still had a pic of what my outdrive looked like after just 6 months here in salt water even after being painted with 2 brushed on coats of Trilux II before I pressure washed it, I would post it up. And, its not pretty. I personally would not do this in Fla. You will be making a lot of work for yourself and de-valuing the boat to the point where it will be hard to sell. Sell it now, while it has some reasonable resale value and get a boat appropriate to the salt water Fla environment for in the water storage. Straight inboards, or outboards.

 

[HT32BSX115]

I wouldn't even leave my boat sitting in fresh water for extended lengths of time.